The End

Thanks for all the readers over the last two years. Thanks for the lively discussions.

Typing this ain’t easy. I thought it would be. It’s not.

I may sporadically do a few “afterword” comics, but the site will no longer update Monday – Friday. The story I originally envisioned is more or less told. Some people are going to bitch and moan that this was a weak ending, blah blah. In the end, the original ending I had in mind… the characters got away from me, and now I can’t use that ending. Also, this comic is eating my life. I’ve spent about 10-12 hours a week on it, for the last two years. This is while holding down a day job, doing Two Lumps, and trying to finish novels. Most of the original story happened. And I never expected this comic to go on perpetually.

About a month and a half ago, I realized I was treading water here, creatively. And I hate doing that.

(A few of you set up automatic Paypal donations monthly – you might want to cancel those, yo.)

For those who came along for the ride for the last 25 months, I hope you enjoyed it. I know I did, even though it was not easy at times. I enjoyed doing this comic. But I no longer enjoy it, and I don’t think it’s got much more to say. We’ll still be doing Two Lumps, and somewhere down the road, there will likely be more comics. (Caveat: I’ll be damned if I stack another 5 days a week strip on my schedule.)

It’s hard saying goodbye. But if you do comics/fiction/art, you learn to do it.

Thanks, y’all. See you in the funny papers.

Edit: Oh, hey, if you wanna throw me one last dollar in the Paypal account, this is the last time FTF is passing the hat.

Been following your work since FLEM, J, and I for one am not disappointed. It feels right. I was half expecting a flash-forward to old Mick and Alex, still running the shop, after the last strip. As always, thank you for being true to yourself – that’s one of the biggest gifts a storyteller can give his audience: truth.

This is one of the few gun related web comics I have found, and so far it is the only good one. I hope you may reconsider one day, maybe start with new characters or something like that. I am very much going to miss this comic.

Oh wait…well dammit. I don’t even know what to say. I’m going to go to work at my own gunshop in the morning, deal with a lot of this crazy stuff in real life, and have to realize I don’t get to follow Mick’s exploits any more. Loved every minute of it, wish it wasn’t ending now. Looking forward to more down the road hopefully!

I always prefer it when a comic ends on the creator’s own terms, whatever they may be. So good on you for giving us 2 years of entertaining and informative comics and stopping when it’s no longer something you’re enjoying. Especially if it’s eating that much of your time.

Three questions:
1) Any chance of you sharing some details about the ending you’d originally planned, and/or your working process for this one? (I’m a sucker for method info from comics people)
2) What say you to the notion of a spin-off comic about Agent Keller? It could be the story of One Competent Federal Agent And The Myriad Fuckwits With Whom He Has To Deal On A Daily Basis…
3) I’m guessing I know the answer to this but what the heck – are you likely to ever go back and do more Darkness & Light comics?

It was lovely while it lasted, and I thank you for that. I’m sure that your next project will be just as much fun to read, whenever you feel it’s time. There’s still Two Lumps, and I hope that one never stops being fun for you! Hugs to you and Mel, see you next Comic-Con!

Feels a little abrupt for an ending, but I get it the desire to be done with it. Story’s told, and continuing it is a forced effort. Never pleasant on an author, ‘specially on a 5x/week schedule. That said….

Thanks for the good times. A few one offs now and again would be nice, but too many artists don’t seem to realize that if you keep going when you have nothing to say it’s the artistic equivalent of babbling.

Someone linked me to this comment a few months back from a polyamory discussion board. I was delighted to find that not only was it a great representation of polyamory, it was even more so a great representation of moderate and reasonable gun ownership and gun culture. I remember going back and reading every single comic since the beginning that night and have been a loyal reader since.

I can’t say I’m not disappointed it’s ending, but it’s great to see something end on its own terms and end successfully. Thanks for the good times, and good luck with any future endeavors.

Not gonna say I liked the ending, but nobody likes the end of something. You took us on quite a journey to get here and that’s what matters most to me. Thanks for 25 months of blood, sweat and other forms of self sacrifice. This comic was the first thing I read every weekday and it will be missed.

Okay, so that was a bit of a surprise, but I can definitely understand not wanting to force something to continue when you’ve run out of passion for creating it. Thanks for giving us FTF. It was a lot of fun and (as a gun neophyte) I even learned some stuff here and there.

Will keep reading Two Lumps, plus anything else you guys decide to put together going forward.

I’ve had this site open in a tab on my phone since the strip started and would just refresh it every morning (or sometimes late at night). I guess it’s time to close that tab. So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Thanks J. I haven’t been a reader long, but I started at the beginning, and caught myself up a few months ago, and have been following along ever since. I’ll keep FTF on my Google home page, in hopes that when I open my browser at work with my first cup of coffee, that I can click and see a new comic. I understand wanting to slow down and focus on more important things in life, and I wish y’all the best of luck in future endeavors.

PS: Even if the story line doesn’t go much farther, keep posting gun pun comics! I know you have a metric-shit-ton of those in that head of yours!

Man…I’ve been reading these first thing every morning since you started this comic. It’s been fun…I’ve enjoyed the political strips almost as much as the actual story. I’ll definitely miss the smell of cordite in the morning, but I respect the hell out of you for sticking to your artistic integrity and not dragging out what you consider finished. Best of luck in your next adventure.

Well, Jay, it’s been a great run, and I thank you for sharing your vision with us.
I’m going to REALLY miss FTF every morning,
and would sure get a kick out of an occasional one-off to see how the kids are doing.
In the mean time, can you please toss me a link to this “Two Lumps” strip of which you speak?
I need something else good in addition to Schlock Mercenary and Subnormality…

If you ever feel the muse and want to bring Mick and Alex back someday on even just a weekly basis, I think it’s safe to say you’d already have a fan base. Some of my fav comics only update once a week, and I think I appreciate them even more because of it. Either way, thanks for the journey.

‘Two Lumps’ has a wry sense of the absurd and the 2 best cat depictions ever.

That said, ‘FTF’ has been in my top 5 of ‘favorite comics’ for the past 2 years. I’ll miss this strip like a forbidden candy! The hover text gave me giggles, I loved your rants and you clued me into music I would otherwise never have realized that I now love. Be well and be happy!

On a MONDAY!!? Don’t get me wrong its ok that it ended …. but on a Monday?! couldn’t you have at least waited till Wednesday. I mean now its even more on my Monday crap list… Well at least it wasn’t Friday and messed up the weekend. Anyway thanks for the great ride.

Please at least keep the occasional “Gun Pun” coming. I’ll keep the RSS feed in the hope. Thank you for sharing your time, talent wit (and witlessness), your skill and your life with us. This is not an end just a layover in the journey.

Homestar Runner, The Weekly Vice, and now this. Thanks for the entertainment and the lively conversation. I’ll leave the dead subscription in my feed reader to catch anything else you might decide to throw in here. Beyond that, many blessings moving forward to you and your family!

Seconded; let us know over on Two Lumps, since I imagine many of us will keep reading over there on a tri-weekly basis but not looking here much.

Thanks for two years of fun! (Also, a bunch of great music video links.) I’ll miss stopping in here every day. Some of the arguments I’ve been involved in on here have been pretty awesome, and it’ll be a shame to lose those.

I’ll miss this comic, but the storyline was good and it had to end eventually. It certainly wasn’t a weak ending, and I’m glad it didn’t just trail to nothing and not end at all.
Thanks for all your hard work over the last couple years, and I look forward to your future work.

Like many others, I haven’t been around since the beginning, but found it several months ago, started from the top, and stayed current. It was a great story, and I enjoyed all of it. Thanks for what you did!

Talk about yanking the rug out from under ya…. what a crappy way to start the week. I get it, I totally get why. You wrapped it up well, with the shop being totally Mick’s and not just what Omar left behind. Love the ending. Except that it’s the ENDING.

Cheers, and luck and love to you and Mel and whatever furballs are currently dusting your kilt with cat hair.

Well, shit… A daily pleasure done. Can’t bitch, it was a great run, and I’m grateful I discovered it… so much so that I went back and read every previous strip shortly after landing here about a year ago.

As someone who lives a poly lifestyle I just wanted to say thank you for representing it so well here. Mick’s adventures in polyamory were nice to see unfold. I’ll miss this comic but I’ll still read TwoLumps religiously, thanks for the laughs here!!

Wow, if your story is over it is over. I understand the treading water allegory, I did the same bloody job for 17 years, and the last 5 felt like treading… I enjoyed this story. Thank you for sharing it. So back to two-lumps… I really appreciated this comic, be noticeable if you start up another comic.

This… is unexpected. I think I got in contact with your comic through the Slingshot channel or maybe even through another webcomic. Anyway, it was very enjoyable to read and it really broke the gun-toting American stereotype for me. Its not for killing, its for sport.
I hope that you will occasionally do a comic based on (gun) news and events. I would love to see the point of view of a responsible gun owner.

Thank you for this amazing Comicstrip. I really enjoyed it, since the day Joerg Sprave mentioned you in one of his videos. That day i read all the strips and continued reading and loving them till this day. I wish you all the best for your life and hope you can enjoy doing what you like. Greetings from a german fan

Was going to say “so long, and thanks for all the fish,” but about half the other readers beat me to it. Thank you for taking the time to have an ending, bittersweet and perfect, and not just drifting off into the ether like so many.

I have loved this comic since day one. I have so much respect for you, and have really learned from other commenters as well. (This is in addition to being amused and enjoying the strip.)

I am a woman who loves guns and is politically a little left of center, sometimes a lot left (social issues mostly). I also happen to be named Alex and be an old-school blue-haired punk from years back (not anymore, now I’m in my mid 40’s and look mostly normal), and am bi, poly and kinky and a lot of other things that Alex here is, so of course I love her!!!!

Good on you for getting your life back (a little), and whatever your next ride is, I’ll take that, too.

Since this comic has first started I had looked forward to a new comic every day. It has always been a hoot for me and the first thing I typed into my laptop when I wake up. I will greatly miss that.
Thank you so much for it; it was fun, and funny!

I have been following this comic since the very beginning. It is very rare to find a good firearms related comic, I have enjoyed this one very much. It was a great story, thanks for the past two years and best of luck with your future endeavors!

I hope you keep the archive active.
I don’t remember which comic brought me here, but I do remember it was one of your political rants that I happened to agree with.
I’ll just go back to the beginning and start all over again.
It was a good ride, and I enjoyed a lot of what you drew.
I even learned to like the gun puns you threw in occasionally.

Will you be releasing the last year + in book form?

Anyway, best regards in your future endeavors.
Thanks for the laughs, groans, and sometimes insightful looks at our cultural and political arenas…

While the ending could be better it wasn’t bad by a long shot. It kinda strikes me that this comic lasted more than 2 years, fuck that’s a long time having gone so fast. I still remember the first strip, checking every day a couple of times in case of a sneak update.

I appreciate the honesty and you following your story and not just being in it for the money, that’s what it truly means to be a storyteller. You tell a story and you move on, no desperate clinging to it and milking it for what it is worth. I find it sad when people can’t end a show, franchise, story or what have you not, just like people desperately clinging to life and not wanting to face and accept that death is real. You avoided that, so while an ending is filled with a bit of sadness and nostalgia I am still happy that you ended it on your terms and that it didn’t degrade in quality.

Please don’t stop doing the “stupid” pun comics, those were some of the funniest ones and they didn’t depend on a storyline thus they are creatively flexible. If I drank I guess this would be the moment where I would toast to you (or for you, English is my 3rd language). So cheers, and thanks for the story.

Sad to see it end, but i do understand and respect the reasons. Hope to see it pick up in this story or another some time in the future.
Just for old times sake, give us a last awfull gun-pun for the road?

A bittersweet surprise. Thank you for sharing this comic with us as long as you have; it’s been wonderful! And not many artists would have the nerve to publish something so, shall we say, non-politically correct. I’m a big Two Lumps fan as well, so double play, and I look forward to continuing enjoyment of your work.

I will say I am sorry to see it end as I enjoy your rants as much as your comic. But the ending isn’t week in my mind. I think it is a good place to leave off with the two of them in a happy place. But I will still check here from time to time to see if you have anything new up too

Ah yes….art imitating life…have really enjoyed the ride. Having spent almost 30 years hanging around a local family owned shop and 7 1/2 keeping their indoor range intact everything you’ve mentioned in this strip has actually happened in real life ! Our shop had a fire, accidental discharges, and yes self inflicted wounds (non fatal)…and all in all a hell of a lot of fun, much like this strip. They recently closed, the owner being offered a hell of a lot of money for the property and moved out of state…sad to see them go. So now we bid Mick and Company adios and I’m left with looking for another gun shop fix. Best wishes and good luck on your next endeavor ! (just keep us posted via two lumps)

I remember when you announced this comic during a late night Two Lumps panel at Anime Fest. I was excited to see it start and equally excited each weekday to see how the story went. You were right that this comic fit a very specific niche that was untapped and you pulled off an amazingly fun story. I periodically check dumpsters near crappy motels here in Plano for Omar’s clothes… I’ll let you know if I find em.

The ending was not far from reality. I moved to Fort Worth 3 years ago and got what was supposed to be a short term gig at a range north of Fort Worth. Three years later and I am still here, now one of the managers at our second range in Grand Prairie, and I love going to work every day. The people I work with are great and the customers are sometimes reflected in FTF. Since I work in the industry FTF was a little “slice of life” humor for me. Thanks for all the humor and some real world useful tips.

Ya know, I’m not a big fan of guns. They have their place, it was just never a thing I cared for. That being said, I’ve been reading and following along since you originally posted about FTF on Two Lumps… and I’ve never once not enjoyed it. Be it the writing, the story, the humor, and your occasionally impeccable taste in music (love me some Celldweller and some of the other odds and ends in generas you posted).

I dunno if you have an overly active forum on Two Lumps, but regardless, you should set up something like this for that site. Half the fun was getting the occasional glimpse into topics I knew nothing about (and occasionally heard of) and seeing what people in the know thought.

It’s been a trip, and here’s hoping for many more years of amazing stuff from you.

I do not have words to express how bummed out I am by this. I came back today just in case it was a hoax. I have really enjoyed this comic and everything that goes with it. I can only hope you continue this comic with a once weekly update. Thanks for the fun. I will miss my daily dose of gunshop humor.

Please be sure to post on Two Lumps when you get a final bound FTF collection together. Outtakes, strips that were abandoned or didn’t gel are fun. A follow up or reunion arc for closure would be nice, too. Just some thoughts for procrastibation filler (“I’ll finish that right after I’m done with this.”).

I have enjoyed reading your strip. I have not always agreed with you, but I don’t need to. Have fun with the time you are freeing up, and take care of your wonderful wife. Some men never realize how lucky they are in their spouse.

Well Mr. Grant, it’s been a great ride. This has been a great comic. I suppose I’ll check back infrequently like I do with Gone With The Blastwave, for their annual update. Otherwise I suppose I’ll be on the lookout for where you’re at at the Dallas cons. Hope to see you there!

An excellent story well told and illustrated. It’s been fun reading along for the past 6 months or so. When i first got into this comic I would stay up late for hours reading comic after comic because I just couldn’t get away from it. For the past few months it’s been tough waiting for the next one to come online. I guess the wait is now over for good.

Wow. Mick actually gets a happily ever after. Well played, sir. I will see you at the shows and look forward to your next projects… and maybe one day at a burn (one of many things I didn’t know existed before this strip =)
Thank you for all the long hours and work that went into this labor of love. It’s been a wild and crazy ride.

That was a Monday morning shocker… I loved reading this strip and will miss it.

Thank you for the awesome strip that helped me learn more about guns and stuff. I first started reading because of my dedication to Two Lumps, but soon I came to this site eager to get wrapped up in this story.

That was unexpected but it was a nice ending. You could have ended with the shop blowing up and little text that Alex and Mick rebuilt and all was well in the ‘verse.
I have been reading your comic for a couple of years. I had a different image of guns prior to reading your comic. I did not fear responsible people with guns but it seemed that there were too many irresponsible people. After reading the form here and listening to your political ranting. I was surprised at how much I really appreciated your point of view and enjoyed it.

Cheers, man. I’ve been using your comics to help smooth over rough patches in my life for years. This has been a particularly rough patch, so I thank you for what has been an excellent distraction. Looking forward to your next project as always.

Mr. Grant, I’m going to miss the comic but, I’m really going to miss the occasional music video. I’ve learned about quite a few of the bands you have posted. Now I need another source for new music. Take care and thanks for the awesome comic.

I’m not a webcomic guy. At all. Tripped over a link for one of your particularly funny “filler” comics about Feinstein or something or the other about a year or so ago. Rewound back to the beginning and read the whole damn thing and hung on every update. Got a bit pissy when they came late even. Great story, great job J. Enjoyed every bit of it! Thank you very much!

Thank you. I’ve been following you since the Flem days, and you have consistently been one of my favorite people to follow on the internet. While I’m sad that this one is over, I know that whatever you do next will continue to be awesome.

you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become the villain. you did great here, I loved the whole story, it was a great run, and indeed, like many here, I look forward to seeing whatever thing you come up with! thank you for the this fun story, the ending was awesome!

Heavens to Murgatroyd, it can’t be! I knew I had finally found something to replace my UserFriendly when I found this in the newsfeed on Two Lumps about two weeks after FTF started; now it’s gone! Well, at least it had a more definitive end. I concur with a bound volume of the whole works, it would do well to disguise my horrible coffee table. IIRC, a Vol 1 was announced a while back. Possibly bring back Vol 1 and offer a Vol 2? I’d be in.